Posts Tagged "AFL 2011"

Not since Malcolm Blight’s axing as St Kilda coach has there been a bigger coaching shock in Australian Rules Football than Ross Lyon’s move to Fremantle. The rapidness of the coup by Fremantle management would rival Julia Gillard’s move into the Prime Minister’s job.

The 2011 AFL Finals series has been a bit of a snooze-fest. So much so that while watching Hawthorn and Sydney on Friday night, my biggest interest in the game was trying to figure out why there are so many seagulls at the MCG these days. (Do more people spill their chips than in the […]

With the likes of Judd, Murphy, Waite and Gibbs, Carlton’s midfield is one of, if not the best, midfield in the AFL at this stage. The trouble is that the Blues seem to be lacking talent when it comes to other parts of the ground.

The first week of the AFL finals confirmed what many already suspected – Collingwood and Geelong are still the teams to beat in season 2011. After winning their respective qualifying finals, both the Magpies and the Cats secured the week off and can now focus on preliminary final matches in a fortnight’s time.

As crazy as this may sound, Port Adelaide have had the best fortnight of any AFL club this year. After a horrendous year, many believed that the predicted mass exodus of players to other clubs, built up heavily by the Victorian media, would prove true.

Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell is amazed by the adaptability and determination of his AFL club’s defenders. The Magpies’ backmen, minus injured defensive linchpin Ben Reid, looked vastly undersized against a West Coast attack that is the AFL’s tallest, in Saturday’s qualifying final.

The Round 21 2011 MCG clash against the Tigers will go down as one of the most insipid displays from the proud Bloods in a long time. Out-muscled, out-enthused, outwitted and outplayed, an inspired Richmond ran riot in a stunning performance against the much more fancied Swans.

On Monday one of the worst kept secrets in the AFL was confirmed. Western Bulldogs young gun Callan Ward told his club he will be leaving and joining the AFL’s newest team Greater Western Sydney for a reported five-year contract worth $800,000 a season.

After posting a convincing 95-point win over the Adelaide Crows on Saturday night, West Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold says his team is in prime condition to take on ladder-leaders Collingwood next weekend at the MCG.

It’s a rare moment when your team shreds the unbackable favourites and reigning premier by nigh on 100 points, and you can’t decide whether you’re pleased. But looking at recent history, some Cats fans might be wishing Friday night’s result had gone differently.

There’s been a lot of discussion about the effect of the bye this year and it’s been a season of two halves with regard to its influence. Second-placed Geelong, coming off the bye last weekend, bucked the trend when they lost at Skilled Stadium for the first time in four years, to Sydney.

Another week, another win for the ladder-leading Mapgies. Collingwood has lost just two matches since round eleven last year, both by a mere three points. The Mapgies of 2011 have been lauded by many as the one of the greatest teams of all time.